The Key
by Atheniandream
Summary: Responce to a Fic Request. (Guess which one!) Post Season 5.


_Summary: A general request on Tumblr. I'll let you work out which request it was. I hope we get LOTS of versions of this!_

* * *

 **The Key**

* * *

After the trial,

Things _didn't_ go back to the way that they were.

They never could.

The kind of journey that each person at that firm went through, was markable for life.

And life was...harder now. They worked harder. Played harder. They pushed past their blemished reputations in the vain hope that things would get a different kind of better.

In honesty, Harvey Specter _was tired._

He had been fighting the decisions that led he and Mike to this end for so long that it felt like he grew up with the kid. _There was a History now_. The way it dragged Donna and Rachel with them. How it cornered Jessica and left Louis out in the open, alone.

They were more tender with one another, now. All of them. They all valued each other four fold. In whatever way they chose to show it.

He and Donna were...altered. Tilted, just slightly, since the near miss.

He realised for the first time, just how much he had to make it up to her.

That he had to take a leap. Make the effort. _Make it count._

He did, _at first_ , decide to do it for her birthday. But he didn't like the idea of competing with the possible five people that were directly in her life. One of whom he hadn't had it in himself to ask about lately.

Two weeks after the all clear, he started to apply himself.

* * *

The day had started off like any other. A groggy Monday, with meetings and mergers and putting out the slow burning fires from their lengthy fall.

His eyes had flicked to hers, his eyeline zoning in from the comfort of his chair, as he witnessed, first hand her frowning slightly into the screen. She needed glasses, now. Or later eye surgery. And she deftly against admitting the fact. He smiled to himself and studied further. He suspected she was gathering a detailed list of a Leidenson Inc's list of employees, collated in order of loyalty to the CEO. Like he had asked.

He could tell by the way a fine frown narrowed her eyes, that she was adequately occupied for the time being.

 _Stage 3: Accomplished,_ he acknowledged to himself.

His own eyes flicked to his cellphone as he pushed the top of it out of his pocket. He had been waiting for an hour now, for that important message. For that indicator that Mike had followed through on the task he had assigned him.

He had asked for two things:

 _A conformation._

 _And a photo._

At the time that he had asked for such things, Mike had immediately given him shit about it; claiming that after everything he didn't want the responsibility that had been so heavily bestowed upon him. Harvey had given him a glare. Just one tired glare over a Pastrami and Rye Bagel. And that was all it took to remind him:

 _They were Partners_ , regardless.

And if there was an ambiguous task to be tackled - now confined only to wholly legal and morally compassed matters;

Then _...Mike Ross_ was still _his_ guy.

He straightened when the phone in his pocket started to vibrate, frowning just minutely as he carefully fished it out.

His head tilted in disappointed as the familiar name flashed up his phone. He stood up in an abrupt movement, walking to the window.

"God damn it, Mike. What's so hard in what I asked you to do?" He spat in a half voice into the phone, an irrational sheen of anxiety sweeping over his cheeks.

" ** _We have a problem_**." Mike said down the other end.

"What now?" Harvey frowned, double checking his stance as he felt the familiar sweep of two eyes on him. He straightened ever so slightly and placed his hand on the window sill.

"Donna's neighbour came out to 'inspect the rackey'."

"Let me guess...an old lady? And?" He asked carefully.

"I told her that I was her boyfriend...and I was _surprising_ her."

" _Why the hell did you do that_?" He barked, before checking himself.

"That's not the issue," Mike clarified, causing Harvey to roll his eyes in frustration. "The issue is that _Mrs Doherty_ informs me that Donna isn't…"

"Isn't what?"

"She isn't allowed a Piano." He heard his friend sigh disappointedly over the phone. "She says she'll have to notify the building. It's against their regulations."

" _Crap_." He said under his breath. "Do whatever you can to bribe the woman. Any figure. _Any_ price."

"Any?" Mike asked, his voice inching up a notch.

" ** _Any_**. Just get her to keep her mouth shut."

"Wait," He heard Mike say over the other end.

"What?

"If the housing committee _do_ have a rule stating that you can't have a piano in the building, then the committee are the issue, not the old lady."

He swore under his breath, as he swung casually towards Donna's desk.

Contrary to what he had supposed, she was still thoroughly concentrated on her work. He squinted, before turning back.

 _He should have gone outside to answer. Staying in the office was a bad fucking decision._

"Look, Mike. I can't help you right now. Can you just...handle this? For Me?" He asked, the smoothest peel of a plea about his voice.

"I'll do my best." He heard the younger man say with a heavy sigh, as he ended the call.

He cleared his throat, bracing himself against the window frame.

He never thought about the building's regulations.

 _Hell_ , it had taken him all of his connections to find the damn thing in the first place, and restore it to it's supposed previous glory.

When he had originally acquired it, he realised that it had taken a rather large beating after all those years. At one point he considered a replica. But the level of thought wouldn't have been the same. And it _had_ to be perfect.

Because she was about as close to it. _No matter how much he ignored the fact._

When he noticed the movement, his eyes zoning in on her sashaying towards him in rush of turquoise, he felt a lump rise in his throat as he skirted the edge of his desk.

"So... _calling Mike on your cell_ , huh?" She offered, her voice suggestive as she smirked sharply at him.

"No." He frowned, his face bending against the deadpan. "He called _me_." He shrugged, looking pointedly back to his paperwork.

She judged his voice, her eyes narrowing as she examined him in her way.

"Why are you... _anxious_?" She asked.

"No reason." He swallowed.

"Are you... _sweating_?" She asked, widening her eyes.

"I'm not...sweating. I... _bad hangover_." He shrugged her off flippantly, picking up his pen.

"No. It's not that." She countered thoughtfully, taking a confident step towards him. "You looked fine this morning. Overdressed, admittedly, and slightly sharp but then I just figured that you'd... _filled your evening with whatever or whomever you wanted to fill it with_. But you did _not_ have a Hangover."

"It seems more like a Migraine, now." He remarked heavily, giving her a pointed look.

In truth, he hadn't been getting a lot of anything lately. _It was the first dry spell in his entire life._

"It's no one's _B_ irthday." She stated. " _Or_ Anniversary." She cleared the thought. "And Bonus season isn't here for another few months. So it begs the question…" She asked, her voicing leading.

"Donna, I'm not-" He began.

"But," She interrupted.

" **No**." He countered, his eyes flashing beside his concentrated tone. " _Donna_ ,"

Her shoulders dropped then, in a way he'd never seen before, as she huffed, standing a little straighter.

It occurred to him in that moment, that he'd never really said 'no' to her before. Not directly, at least.

 _He'd do anything for her._ And in truth, he tried - _most of the time_ , when he wasn't making bad life choices - to give her whatever she wanted.

It helped that she seldom asked for things.

Such was their equilibrium.

He sighed...quickly dreading the sight of her slightly 'put-out' expression.

They still hadn't talked properly since the trial had ended. On how it had affected them. How it had put her in positions and tried to split them up again. How they were still sensitive to each other since that time that they are apart. And how there were warming back into the way they had been before this mess, and even before Mike.

 _He still had things to say. Things he had decided and needed her to know._

He still hadn't managed to get around to sharing those 'things'.

And now she was looking at him oddly. Like this was a bad omen for them. Like it was a gear shift that she hadn't been ready for.

She gussied a little, her vibrant hair flipping on one side. "Fine...if you don't want to tell me…" She reasoned, her voice kinking slightly as she turned on her heel.

 _Her voice laid the bait like Agard's had._

He struggled not to groan at the fact.

He sighed, softening then. "Fine...you really wanna know?" He replied boldly, riding on a whim.

He watched her swish around, the skirt of her dress spinning slightly as her eyes widened with excitement, an expectant look on her face.

"Mike's... _buying a gift for Rachel_."

"Rachel?" She frowned.

"Yes. For their wedding. It's my...wedding gift. Only...he's messed up. And now wants to help me acquire it."

"Why couldn't you tell me?" She fired at him gently. "And why didn't you ask me instead of going to Mike?"

"Because when you figure out what it is, _you'll tell her_."

"Are you kidding me?" She frowned, her hand sliding up to her hips. "You expect me to believe that load of crap?"

His eyes bulged as he judged her alien approach.

She was seldom _this_ coarse. He'd hit a nerve. Possibly several.

"Donna," He glared at her, her eyebrow twitching with a challenge.

"Fine...if you don't want to tell me then...don't." She shrugged noncommittally. "But don't think for a second that I won't find out." She eyed him shrewdly. "And whilst you're keeping things from me... _maybe practise lying_. Because you suck at it." She leaned in.

He reciprocated, laying his hands on the desk as smirk bent a warmth into his face. " _Is this you..._ _ **not**_ _getting what you want?"_ He offered. "Because it's _really_ entertaining."

He knew he'd staved her off when her mouth tightened, and a strained look appeared on her face. "This isn't over." She promised, stalking rather comically back to her desk.

His phone vibrated, as he fished it out of his pocket.

As he opened the message, he sighed in a quiet victory.

 _There it was._

 _In her apartment._

It was suddenly worth it.

* * *

She had left him alone after that; giving him ample time to complete the task to his liking. However, there were only a handful of hours left until she would leave for home. He dabbled with the idea of offering up dinner. But the idea had made him uneasy. Too much in one day to give a gift like this and have spent the entire day together with the promise of the evening too. He worried that it would blur the lines of their already blurry relationship. That it would cause her to look too deep and dig out things that he wasn't ready to admit.

 _Things about them that he wasn't ready to follow through on._

* * *

When the clocked turned past five, he had started to worry.

 _Time was running out._

He had faked the need to pee, watching not to stalk too quickly out of the office as not to alert her to his forward thinking intention. He passed the halls, fishing out his phone to speed dial the now familiar number.

"Where are we on the negotiations?" He asked into the receiver, nodding to various people as he passed them in the halls.

"Hello to you, too." Mike's voice chimed sarcastically on the other end. "Well...I tracked down the Chairman of the Housing Committee at their place of work. Not my best move, but I've convinced them to let the Piano 'slide' as it were."

"Just like that? They don't want anything in return?"

"Not as such...They are willing to let it stay...but it appears that the old lady next door has already put in her motion _against_ the Piano being in the building. And apparently, according to their guidelines, if the occupant with the longest period of stay is opposed, then the decision is theirs to make?"

"That's bullshit. You need to get her to change her tune."

"I tried, Harvey. Look...I don't know what to do, she's a...battleaxe."

He huffed into the receiver, closing his eyes for a moment at the frustration.

"Fine...Look, I need you to come here and distract Donna for me."

"Distract her? How?"

"Well..she thinks that I'm buying a present for Rachel for your wedding. So use that superior brain of yours to sew up my shitty excuse."

"Right. Sure." Mike sighed. "But if she cracks me like an egg, you owe me." He warned.

"If she finds out, and it comes from _your_ mouth then _you_ , owe **me**." He countered, ending the call.

* * *

He had told Donna that he had an errand to run, skipping across town without stopping to judge the confused look on her face at being kept so far out of the loop.

He took a cab, instead of Ray, asking his long time friend and driver to take Donna wherever in the city she wanted to go after the day was done.

As he stood in front of the black and gold door, he realised.

Looking at 205, was a strange experience.

Only a number away and yet...not familiar to him whatsoever. It had only existed a few feet away, and supposedly the woman had lived there longer than Donna.

And yet he had never met her.

He checked himself then, the reminder that he'd only been at this door less than a dozen times in over twelve years.

 _And yet he remembered everything about 206..._

He rapped his hand on the door, hearing nothing from inside as he waited on the edge of impatience. He scrutinised the tiny peephole.

 _Peepholes were for old ladies, perverts and paranoid schizophrenics._ He had never liked being on this side of them.

When the door opened, he straightened, readying himself.

"Can I help you?" A little woman asked, dressed in a lumpy pearl coloured sweater and large brown rimmed glasses with a beaded necklace attached as some kind of safeguard.

 _The woman looked like a mole version of a reanimated Norma._

"Hi, I'm Harvey Specter. I'm...a friend of Donna's." He introduced.

"Hmm. I've seen you through my peephole once before." She examined, her eyes narrowing at him.

"Right." He swallowed.

"You were shouting, then."

His back stiffened, his mouth sliding into a rare smile. "Sorry about that." He said, trying at sincere. "Look...I'm the one...who had the Piano delivered." He explained.

"Ahhh.." Replied the lady, leaning back slightly from the waist. "I already told that young man that tried to lie to me earlier that I can't have that thing in the building." She told him stubbornly. "They're loud, and badly played and they bang." She told him. "And I don't like banging." She stated, her eyes narrowing at him.

"I understand that, Mrs Doherty-"

" _It's Ms_ ,"

"What?"

"I'm not married." The woman replied bluntly.

He struggled against the sarcastic words forming in his head and the notion that Donna was on a 'single women only' floor. The need to relocate her to somewhere more appropriate flared up in his mind.

"Right. Ms Doherty. _Look_ ," He sighed, readying his argument. "Now...that Piano in there, is one that I had tracked down and restored. It was Donna's childhood piano that was given away during a very hard time for her. And I want her to have it."

"Like I told the young man. I'm sorry. Let her put it in storage. But I don't want that blasted thing in this building." She told him.

His jaw twitched as he flexed his shoulders. He wasn't giving up without a fight. He'd do anything and everything necessary to make sure it stayed in her apartment.

"Ms Doherty... _have you ever been in love_?"

"Excuse me?" The old woman's eyes widened for a moment.

"Well... _have you_?" He pressed.

"I…." She swallowed, her already watery seeming eyes glazing over as her head jutted back at his rather intrusive question. "Once. Maybe. What's it got to do with you?" She fired at him, the gussy about her.

"Mam...I _love_ Donna. And she...has put up with me for...over a decade. And I've been very hard work. Now...I understand that you don't like Pianos." He said carefully. "I'm not a Piano guy, myself. I prefer the Sax. But she's not a Piano teacher. Or a Singer. Or even a Professional Musician. But as a kid...she loved that Piano. And I need her to have it. Now, I will pay to have you moved to a better, more expensive building. Or pay for you to go on Holiday, anywhere you want. I could _perhaps_...even buy her an apartment. But all I need right now…is for her to be able to come home tonight, open the door and see that Piano... _still_ in her apartment. With no one alerting her to the fact." He said, sighing. "Do you understand where I'm coming from?"

" ** _Harvey_**?"

When he heard the distinct voice his shoulders slumped, a vein of disappointment running through him. He didn't need to turn his back to see who it was.

"Ms Doherty?" He heard Donna ask. He could hear her voice turning with interest.

"Hello Dear," The woman chimed in over Harvey's shoulder, her hand lifting to wave blindly at her neighbour. He rolled his eyes at the action, looking back to the women for a moment and judging the intention in her face before turning around to see the all too familiar redhead observing his presence in her building.

"Donna. What are you doing here? You don't finish for another…" He paused, regarding at his watch.

"Harvey," She sighed, giving him an unimpressed look. "I told you on Friday. I have dinner with my Dad at seven tonight." She answered, looking between him and the old lady.

Shit.

 _He'd forgotten._

He looked to the older woman, stepping forward to hand her a card. "I gather we can... _talk about this later_? Call me when you decide." He said curtly, watching as she took the card slowly out of his hand with an unreadable expression.

He watched the woman look to Donna, the blood in his body seeming to fall to his feet.

 _He had no idea what she was about to say._

"It was nice to meet you…..." She said, pausing with a look for him to help her out.

"Harvey," He barely stumbled, straightening then. " _Harvey Specter._ "

She nodded then, her expression covering. "Goodnight Donna," The old lady called over his shoulder, before swiftly closing the door on them both.

He breathed a somewhat private sigh of relief, before turning back around to face her.

"What the hell is going on?" She asked, stepping forward towards his conspicuous form.

He straightened then, regained his usual stance as his right hand cupped his left. "Why don't you open the door and find out." He offered, his eyebrow twitching.

"You're...weird today." She observed. "And what was with Mike?"

" _Just open the door_ ," He chided, throwing her an exaggerated look.

She smiled slightly through her suspicion, as she brought the key up to the lock.

He stood, a jolt of excitement coursing through him as she opened the door and flicked the light on.

As they walked in, he watched her step forward. A moment later she dropped the bag he'd bought her months before, as it tumbled onto the carpet.

He closed the door behind them, looking over her shoulder at the sight.

An upright Piano, a slightly red tinged wood, positioned near her dinner table, which had been placed on it a large bouquet of Orange and Yellow Roses.

 _Nice touch, Mike,_ he thought to himself.

She swished around to him, her face in unblemished shock, before she swept towards the Piano, her eyes narrowing as she inspected it.

" _Is this_ …" She asked under her breath.

"One and the same," He acknowledged, a smirk lining his face as his hands slid into his pockets, his face becoming mirth ridden at _her_ , overcome with splintered emotion.

He watched as her fingers raised the lid of the Baby Grand, judging the make and inspecting the keys, ones that he had realised quickly were distinctive and not like any other Piano. There was a carving on the 'D' Key; a D initial and some sort of vine like decoration, that he supposed was a D for the owner herself.

" _How did you_ …" She managed, the shock in her voice as she looked to him, her hand absent-mindedly trailing over the carved key.

"Mike helped. I tracked it down. It didn't take too long, actually. Turns out it was in bad shape after all this time, but it didn't take much to get it back to it's former glory." He explained, watching her as she hovered between sitting on the seat and her brain getting around the idea of it's presence.

"What do you think?" He asked, after a moment.

She paused, turning back to him. "Why were you at my Neighbour's House?" She asked boldly, disconnecting from the precious moment in favour of her own curiosity.

His face fell, as an irritation broke his merriment. "It doesn't matter." He told her.

" _Harvey_ ," She warned.

"It's doesn't matter," He urged, shuffling on the spot.

"Harvey...Tell me. _Now_." She pressed, giving him a look that told him _he wouldn't win that fight a second time..._

He rolled his eyes then, his hands twitching in his pockets. "Your Neighbour hates Pianos."

"Right. And you were... _bribing her_ into changing her mind?" She guessed.

"No," He defended.

 _They had had a chat recently._

He had promised her that he would not do anything illegal for at least six months, and nothing 'Mike Worthy' - as it would now be called - for at least Eighteen Months.

She had used the phrase _'Underhanded Shit'_ several times during their conversation.

And he had agreed to those terms with a serious face and an acknowledgement.

She had threatened him just to make sure.

Since then, he'd...forgotten this talk. In context.

And had therefore not applied it to the current circumstance.

"I didn't _bribe her_...I explained why I needed what I needed. And I offered to make it worth her while." He clarified. " _Very_ worth her while."

"Harvey...that is cohersion." She accused, her features sharpening then.

"Actually...it's just bribery... _soft_...bribery." He downplayed. "The question is... _do you wanna keep it_?"

He watched her as she judged his expression. "Yes." She confirmed, her face falling into a smile.

"Right. Then...if that old woman doesn't come back to me with a number then I may have to buy you an apartment to put it in."

"Harvey," She chided, stepping towards him.

He noticed her close the distance between them then, his back straightening as her skirt brushed against his suit pants.

"Donna?" He asked, as he took in her floral scent and the fruity smell of her hair as it moved slightly against her.

 _She looked beautiful these days._

In a way that she hadn't really before.

She was attractive, sure. She had always had been. But lately she seemed like this beautiful swan, an ethereal creature that graced his life with an effortlessness, like she was a gift bestowed upon him or something other-worldly that had chosen to live amongst the men, and deemed him worthy after lengthy consideration.

 _It could have been the fact that she was wearing white a lot, though..._

 _He knew he was getting soft, either way._

His eyes darted to hers, before looking to her lips for a moment. Before he could analyse her actions, she stepped forward and into him, her face turning as her lips planted themselves gently onto his right cheek.

It wasn't common for a man to blush.

He only realised when her hand gripped his shoulder for balance and his hands had instinctively caught her around her waist that they hadn't touched for so long that he almost forgotten that she was solid.

She disconnected, her hand slipping down. And yet his hands didn't move.

"Thankyou." She breathed. "I love it." She told him.

His breath paused then, his mouth suddenly feeling gluey and thick.

He finally let out a breath when her cellphone had started to ring.

His hands dropped finally, as she picked up her bag, fishing through it as she took the call, placing it on her side table.

"Hi Dad," She said, her eyes flicking to his for a moment.

He swallowed, gathering himself against the ripe need to leave.

"I... _actually_...something came up. I need to _reschedule_. Is that okay?" She asked delicately, her eyes looking to him.

He watched as she nodded finally. "Okay. Love you too. Bye." She said, ending the call.

"Donna...you didn't need to do that. _I was just going to_ …" Harvey offered, sighing against the strange feeling of unease coursing through his body.

"Harvey," She countered as she looked to him, her expression slightly argumentative. "Why _did_ you get me this?"

"I….just….wanted you to have it." He shrugged.

" _Why_?"

"Donna. It's a gift." He clarified.

"And you've never given me a gift without a good reason. So what's the reason?"

"It been a shitty few months Donna," He said, unkempt frustration flying over the angles on his face. "I know you've lost a lot...in your life. And I…." He huffed, the reluctant stringing of his words pulling towards his mouth. "I didn't want that to be one of them."

"Why not?" She frowned. " _You_ didn't lose all my family's money, Harvey. You didn't cause me to move to Connecticut." She reasoned, her arms flapping.

She was right.

He hadn't screwed up her childhood. Her abhorrent Father had done that.

But he wasn't innocent in continuing to charter her life away from what had been her passions. _Whether she had followed him or not..._

"You would have…" He paused, sighing with a finality. "Made a great Actress." He said, observing her features. "You know that?"

"Maybe so." She half smiled. "But instead... _I_ ," She paused, fractionally as her face read the recognition of the moment. "... _chose_ to work for you." She finished, nodding once in understanding.

"Thankyou. For giving up everything." He told her.

"Harvey...It's just a job." She said, rolling her eyes at the sentiment.

He didn't know why he felt the need, but the overwhelming urge to lean towards her flooded through him.

" _I don't just mean_ _that_." He said under his voice.

When she squared a look at him, his cheeks had sharpened. For a second, she narrowed her eyes like she had finally met the sun.

He swallowed, taking in a look that felt like it pierced him through and through.

"I should go." He mumbled, shuffling the weight against the balls of his feet.

"Harvey." She frowned. "You can't just...drop off the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever gotten me and then just leave?"

"Donna. I...it's a gift okay?" He shrugged defensively. "I just...wanted you to have something that was special to you." He retaliated, straightening.

He could see it.

 _The impulse._

She had wanted to say more. She had more things that she needed him to hear. One or more truths that he was seemingly unaware of.

 _But it was different this time._

He had possibly put the nail in the coffin, in that respect.

 _You could only spurn a woman like her once._

And Donna wasn't just any woman.

He'd gotten a free pass with the last time.

She nodded, a flicker of emotions running across her face. "Thank you again, Harvey."

"You're welcome," He smiled limply. "See you tomorrow?" He enquired, observing her features.

"Yeah." She said, folding her arms as she watched him leave.

As he hailed a cab, the night air blustery and hardly the tone of spring, he realised.

It took him less than a minute to piece it all together.

 _He was in love with her._

 _He was in love with Donna._

And there was a big possibility that he had missed the opportunity with her.

 _Another one, of a hundred times._

She was the Key to everything that he had,

And everything he had ever wanted,

And everything that he thought himself less than worthy of.

And it had been there,

 _Right under his nose,_

 _The entire time._

* * *

 _Note: I chose to leave Mike out of this where I could have had a Donna/Mike thing, only because I don't know what they are going to do with Season 6, and like most of my fic they usually fall out of context with the show's run._

 _As always,_

 _Feed the Kitty! A._


End file.
